# Former Tobyhanna commander promoted to brigadier general 

/ Published Aug. 16, 2016
FORT BRAGG, North Carolina, Army Col. Michael Talley, former commander of Defense Logistics Agency Distribution Tobyhanna, Pa., was promoted to the rank of brigadier general at a ceremony held at Marshall Hall, U.S. Army Forces Command in Fort Bragg, N.C., on Aug. 5.
Talley served as commander of the distribution center from July 2007 to July 2009.  During his time with the organization, he implemented innovative and aggressive dormant stock initiatives, reducing inventory by 28 percent; reduced end-to-end Theater to Source of Repair processing time by 25 percent; ensured execution of several time-sensitive trans-shipments to the United States Central Command Area of Responsibility required for the massive Operation Enduring Freedom base camp build-ups; and established mutual support partnerships with Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps Reserve Component logistics units.

Currently, he is serving as commander, 44th Medical Brigade, Ft. Bragg, N.C.  He was recently announced as the incoming command surgeon, U.S. Army Forces Command, Fort Bragg, N.C.

A native of Duluth, Minn., he volunteered and enlisted in the Army in 1983, serving with the 1st Infantry Division (Forward), Germany and the 197th Separate Infantry Brigade (Mechanized) at Fort Benning, Ga.  He achieved the rank of sergeant and was honorably discharged in 1989.  Talley earned a Bachelor of Science degree with honors from the University of Texas at El Paso and was commissioned as a Distinguished Military Graduate in 1991.  

Talley has led Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and civilians in several previous operational and logistics assignments, to include: platoon leader, class VIII accountable officer, Squadron S4, and company commander, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment at Fort Bliss, Texas and Fort Carson, Colo.; group medical logistics officer, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Bragg, N.C.; observer/controller, Mechanized Infantry Task Force and Medical Activity chief of logistics, National Training Center, Fort Irwin, Calif.; director/instructor, Combined Logistics Officer Advanced Course (Phase II), Fort Sam Houston, Texas; and G3 war plans officer, XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg, N.C.   

He served Operation Iraqi Freedom combat tours as the executive officer of 261st Medical Battalion (ABN) and S3, 507th Corps Support Group (ABN), in addition to a deployment to Saudi Arabia as the assistant program manager for Health Affairs, Office of the Program Manager, Saudi Arabian National Guard Modernization Program (OPM-SANG).  

Most recently, he served as the assistant deputy chief of staff G-3/5/7, Office of the Surgeon General and U.S. Army Medical Command.

Talley’s education includes the Combined Logistics Officer Advanced Course, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, Advanced Military Studies Program (SAMS), and the U.S. Army War College.  He holds two Master of Military Arts and Sciences from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, a Master of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College, and a Master of Arts from Webster University.  

His awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Expert Field Medical Badge, and Master Parachutist and Air Assault badges.  He is a Military Historian designee and member of the Armored Corps’ Order of Saint George and Order of Military Medical Merit.